Monday, June 13, 2011

Austen

"There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature." ~Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

I find myself in Austen's pages.

Is this too bold a statement...to compare myself to not only to her characters, but also to the spirited and passionate authoress herself?

I find a mixture of Elizabeth Bennet and Marianne Dashwood blended within my soul, as these are the characters that have been rumored to bear the most resemblance to the one who birthed them in ink and page.

Perhaps it is because I find myself just as comfortable and at home alone with a pen and paper as I do in a crowd of laughing friends.

Or is it my passionate ability to love, and yet the finding of myself to be hurt more often than not when my sensibilities fall lower than my imagined dreams...

Or maybe it's just because I've caught myself watching two of my favorite screen actors -- the stunningly beautiful Anne Hathaway and the dashingly handsome James MacAvoy -- perform the historical dance that was the romance between Jane Austen and Tom LeFroy.

Whatever the reasons, I've always found an affinity toward Jane Austen and her various works -- on the page far more than at the movies, but my love for both is strong.

I want to make a mark on the world like she did. I want to brave some new world, to make some new-cut path for the future world to walk upon.

For it was Jane Austen who made my writings possible. She cut down the brambles and burned the thorns that blocked the path for a woman to take up a pen and make something of herself in the world of the written.

If I could chose a new place in which to live, it would be to return to the late 1700s...

...to put on a floor-length cotton dress, take a book in my hand, and make a great change to the world...

...if only to spend just one long afternoon

becoming Jane.

A novel must show how the world truly is, how characters genuinely think, how events actually occur. A novel should somehow reveal the true source of our actions. ~Jane Austen, Becoming Jane

8 comments:

Love, love, love that movie! I have read all but two of her books, (both are on my to-read list) and I must say that apart from feeling romantic and dreamy, I always feel more intelligent after reading them. I also think in a British accent for a while afterwards. ;) The are most definitely on my list of most beloved books. :)

Oh, {like everyone else said} I love this post! :) I seem to blend the characters of Lizzy, Emma, and mostly Marianne in my personality, although I can never be sure, as they are the only three books I have read. I know, I am working on that :P Well i had better end this comment... I saw a post titled "dancer" so I must go and read it. Most likely I will be sifting through all of your archives reading the day away...Blessings and <3

I look at you and see all the ways a soul can bruise, and I wish I could sink my hands into your flesh and light lanterns along your spine so you know there's nothing but light when I see you. :: Shinji Moon